Thursday, October 29, 2009

Into the Tempest, Into the Night

Last month I drove to a state park that is a few miles from my house and started walking on one of the trails. I ended up off of the trail and in the woods. After losing track of time I realized that there was a storm brewing and it was starting to get late. Instead of going back the same rough way, I gambled by circling around. The weather grew worse, the light was fading and I was getting worried about my camera as I heard the thunder in the distance. Just as I was about to put the camera into it's bag I heard the sound of very large wings fluttering next to me. With out giving it much thought I whipped around and snapped a picture of this raptor as it flew from it's perch.

I'm happy to say that I made to the car before it started raining, and by the time I got home it was pouring.

To see other Skywatch Friday pictures please click here.

83 comments:

Anonymous said...

James James James...this has to be one of my favorite photos of yours that I have seen to date. I love this. TBK is just in awe :)

Sistertex said...

Wow - this is spectacular!

Señor Anciano said...

w0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0w w0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0w
w0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0w It is awesome man, I'm gonna use it as my desktop image
I wish I could take some photo like this

Sunny said...

Wow!
That's all I can say.
Sunny :)

Julie said...

Excellent, James. Good to go with the B&W as the focus then is squarely on the raptor in its environment. An exciting composition. I am envious.

Brava!

Pat said...

This photo screams 'Edgar Allen Poe' or else was part of the opening scene of that low-budget, but very successful and now cult film made in Pennsylvania, The Night of the Living Dead. That one still scares me....to death.

Great photo!!!

diane b said...

A gerat shot and a scary situation, which seems to come through in the photo. Appropriate for Halloween week.

Malyss said...

I was thinking you made it for Halloween, but no.. Halloween made it for you! Starting a storm, just before the night, you were alone and lost..(A kind of David Vincent story..Ü)
Both picture and story behind are great. I'm glad to know you could join the car before the rain.

Kcalpesh said...

Interesting time spent. Nice to know that both you n your camera were both back safe and dry! :-) This is a nice shot in the short time that was available to you!

Kathy W said...

Great shot James. LOL glad you got back to your car in time. =)

Cezar and Léia said...

It was for sure a kind of adventure!
Wonderful shot James!
Léia :)

Dimple said...

I'm enraptured by your wonderful photo of the raptor! Great title, too!

Hilda said...

Awesome!

Thérèse said...

An excellent start for a scenario...

Lowell said...

You thought the "rapture" was coming and snapped a photo! ;-)

And a dramatic photo it is!

Glad you made it home safe and dry!

amatamari© said...

A really dark sky and a picture full of emotions ...
Magnificent!

Carolyn Ford said...

James James James! That is so good! You found yourself a great perch to capture that shot! Love it!

Valerie said...

Simply spectacular.

JPT said...

Great moody shot.

Regina said...

Fantastic and awesome capture!

Have a great weekend.

Lois said...

What a fabulous shot James! It's amazing.

Sylvia K said...

I can only echo all that the others have written! Utterly gorgeous, fantastic capture, James!! Perfect for the Halloween weekend, that's for sure! Thanks as always for stopping by, your comments are always appreciated!

Enjoy your weekend!

Sylvia

chrome3d said...

Very lovely horror feeling in this one. The darkness and the bird is so powerful.

I think I have a reflection for saturday this week.

Photo Cache said...

just in time for halloween.

hope your weekend is ghoulishly good.

Carver said...

That's a fantastic shot. So mysterious and beautiful.

marcia@joyismygoal said...

ooooh good Halloween sky that is quite a nice shot

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Spectacular picture, and a great story. What an adventure.

Eaglesbrother said...

Great Storm Clouds..and my favorite subject..the Hawk in the sky.


Eaglesbrother

Daryl said...

Spooky good!

Judy said...

Okay, I will say all that again, and more!!! This image is simply incredible!! I sure hope it is on a wall somewhere!!!

Elisabeth said...

James, excellent! Wow says it all.

Jane said...

Great shot James, love the brooding sky behind it too. Thanks for sharing:)

Rune said...

Lovely silhouette photo!

kayerj said...

all I can say is WOW!

cieldequimper said...

Almost a vortex. Fantastic shot.

Eric said...

Stunning shot, great action and moment, the bird is the cherry on the pie in this picture, done a great job, well done!!!

Have a nice SWF.

Eric, Holland

Guy D said...

What a magnificent image, wow.

All the best
Guy
Regina In Pictures

Pearl Maple said...

Great photo, you never know when those moments will sneak up on you, thanks for sharing with Sky Watch Friday and good thing the camera stayed dry.

Lucy Corrander said...

How appropriate for the season.

Your description of how the photo came about adds to the atmosphere of it.

Lucy

hetty said...

A fantastic photo and a great story to go with it!

Unknown said...

Beautiful! Thank you for sharing!

Diane AZ said...

Fantastic sky image, it would look great on a mystery book jacket!

Martha Z said...

Oh! What a wonderful shot.

ruma said...

I can see clearly that a bird flies in a cloud moving intensely, just a morment.
The working of the Nature impresses me.

Thank you.

Happily Retired Gal said...

Marvelous shot and kewl story of your adventure ;-)
Hugs and blessings,

My name is Riet said...

Wow oh my goodness how beautiful that is and you captured the bird right on your photo. Fantastic.
Thank you for visiting

Janice / Dancing with Sunflowers said...

Fantastic shot James! And it portrays perfectly the threatening storm and the ruggedness of the terrain that you've described.
Janice.

Liway said...

Hi, this is awesome!!!!! I love it!

Martha said...

I love it! What a mood it depicts!

I hope you are feeling better!


My SWF

penny said...

And we are the lucky recipients of the wonderful photo you captured of the raptor. Amazing shot, James.

Take care of that, that holds you up.

indicaspecies said...

Marvelous capture of the raptor!

VP said...

Speechless! Great photo, nice personal story and 'making of' on the side.

Gallow said...

This one is perfect for Monochrome. I really like the sky in this one.

Larry D said...

Great capture!

eileeninmd said...

What a COOL photo! Well done James. And I am happy to hear you made it back to car before the rain started.

Light and Voices said...

It can't be better than this. The movement of the clouds and the hawk is amazing!
Joyce M

Ebie said...

I would love this eerie skies on the 31st! Very spooky!

You captured it well!

rhoen said...

what a drama! nice shot you got! happy skywatching!

Martha said...

Awesome skywatch shot James!

Maria said...

We've certainly had a whirlwind of different weather these last few weeks! Amazing photo!
~Maria

Bogey said...

A shot in a million James....a shot in a million!

Lew said...

Great capture! Glad you did not get wash out.

slim said...

This majestic image takes my breath away. What a fantastic moment that you will never forget and have the image to back up your memory :-)

myonlyphoto said...

Sometimes unexpected turns into magic. This is in fact very unique and mysterious photo. Glad you made it okay to the car. I always keep plastic bag in my pocket just in case. Anna :)

Sishir said...

Fantastic........open sky & the eagles wide spread wings.....what a feel!!!
Thanks for your comment & suggestion.

Anya said...

I love the black/white colors
its very special James
Fantastic shot !!
:)

Cathy said...

This is a great photo.. glad you made it back.

Terri said...

Fabulous photo James.

Chubskulit Rose said...

You took it perfectly!

Have a glimpse of a Korean Sunset.

GreensboroDailyPhoto said...

Love the story you told about your adventure on the trails. And the accompanying photo makes us feel as if we were there. Wow! 72 comments on Sky Watch. How do you do it!!!????

Woody said...

Simply an awesome photo James, One of the best I have ever seen...

Great Job!

Crafty Green Poet said...

this is an amazing photo, beautifully composed and atmospheric, gorgeous....

Carletta said...

An awesome silhouette! What a sky!

clairz said...

Amazing shot. When I first saw it I thought I was looking downward toward swirling water. Absolutely lovely. Thank you for sharing and for visiting my blog. And thank you for getting back safely from your hike.

Dewdrop said...

WOW! Amazingly creepy scene, wonderfully captured!

bemused26 said...

That is an awesome shot. Really beautiful picture. I'm glad you didn't get wet!

Namnet said...

This is my favourite photo for Skywatch so far. I simply love it. The colours are so catching (even there are not many of them:-) and the clouds are formed in so weird shapes. Wonderful.

Which area are you going to stay in Czech Republic? Well, I can predict the temperatures about 5°C here in Czech Republic next month. But if you go to stay somewhere in the mountains, bring some very warm clothes with you:-)

Tammie Lee said...

Your photo is wonderful and got a sound out of me when I saw it.
Spirithelpers

Sara Chapman in Seattle, USA said...

Wow, that's really something. Frameable, to say the least. What a photo!

Carly said...

this is a great Halloween picture! Reminds me of the movie the birds!

Nefertiti said...

Superb!

Good Sunday

(j translator just put on my blog)

AKO said...

I like this Skywatch photo. Nice composition and contrasts!

AB said...

Great photo!